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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (29 June) . . Page.. 2294 ..
MR OSBORNE (continuing):
forward, like most members, to reading what the coroner makes of all this when he has finished his investigation.
Mr Speaker, in February last year, 18 months ago, the health minister was firmly put on notice by this Assembly that he needed to address certain problems in our public hospital, namely, problems directly related to the number of nurses and other hospital functions, including surgery. The minister assured us at the time that he was taking, and would continue to take, a personal hands on approach to the administration of the Canberra Hospital. I think he referred to it in Hansard as "continuing to meddle". However, it was only this week, 18 months later, that he has got around to undertaking a formal review of these two matters.
Mr Speaker, my final comment is in regard to the health priorities of this government as they are expressed through the budget. Other members have spoken at length about the minister's $64 million slush fund. I agree with my colleagues that the approval of unallocated funds is not an acceptable form of budgeting, and I am genuinely surprised that the health minister thought he was going to get away with it.
I note that he has since allocated the first $8 million of the slush fund, but the subsequent years are possibly still something of a problem. I also note that the minister's health agenda and growth in needs priorities perhaps come into conflict with what I believe the people of Canberra expect of their government. While there are funds available for some extra services, all of which, in themselves, are valid needs, these come at a time when, for example, there are significant problems in our public hospitals, there are areas of the city in the grip of a chronic shortage of GPs, proven drug addiction therapies are ignored, home-based palliative care by specialists is possibly again under threat, and the public dental waiting list continues to blow out.
Further, Mr Speaker, despite the minister's insistence that our illicit drug use is a medical problem, we have more of our young people using drugs every year. I strongly disagree with this health minister's priorities on drug treatment and rehabilitation. This minister is yet to spend a single dollar on residential rehabilitation for our young people who are, unfortunately, in the grip of drug addiction. If it was not for the provision of a generous amount of Commonwealth funding, funding from a drug strategy that Mr Moore has strongly criticised, we would remain without a youth rehab facility for some time to come. I believe that Mr Rugendyke and I have been patient on this matter, but all that the minister seems willing to open his wallet for is a shooting gallery that is designed to keep people chained to the misery of their addiction.
Most members will be aware that I recently attended a drug summit in Sydney for a week. Much of the week was spent on taking a rational look at the successful drug strategy of Sweden, a strategy based on harm prevention, not the fallacy of harm minimisation that we seem content to blindly follow. I seek a short extension, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Take your second 10 minutes, Mr Osborne.
MR OSBORNE
: I found this conference most enlightening, and I cannot help but despair at the rabid enthusiasm with which Mr Moore pursues his drug agenda while seeming to abrogate responsibility for the rest of his portfolio. I accept that I opposed the
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